Four years ago we were among the first to reveal (through some diligent Google Translating) that Paul W.S. Anderson would take on a different Capcom property, Monster Hunter, after he finished up with Resident Evil. There hasn't been any update on it until now as Anderson has revealed to Deadline not only the synopsis, but details on his approach to adapting the best-selling video game.
The game doesn't really have a core plot; it basically asks players to track down and capture monsters. Think Pokemon but on a different scale. That comes with its own unique challenges for Anderson to deal with...
“There are no real central characters so it’s a bit like when we first approached Resident Evil and imposed our own characters and story on that world. I think this is a perfect IP for us to do exactly that same thing again. The Monster Hunter world includes these huge deserts that make the Gobi Desert look like a sandbox, and they have ships that sail through the sand. These full on galleons, but rather than sailing on the ocean waves, they sail through waves of sand…You’re fighting these giant creatures, some as big as a city block. They live underneath the Earth and when they burst out, it’s like the best of Dune. You also have these flying dragons, giant spiders, the most wonderful creatures.”
He also revealed that at least part of the movie would take place in Los Angeles, specifically LAX, as the story blends the monster world with the real world.
“The final act comes back to our world and it’s basically this epic battle in and around LAX. Then at the end we’re suddenly confronted with the fact that the mythological creatures of our world have come back to wreak vengeance. So we definitely have the second film where that would be planned out.”
And here is the official synopsis for the film which he has written and will direct, although it doesn't have a start date or confirmed release.
“For every Monster, there is a Hero. An ordinary man in a dead end job discovers that he is actually the descendant of an ancient hero. He must travel to a mystical world to train to become a Monster Hunter, before the mythical creatures from that world destroy ours.”
